Articles and Poetry by Our Members
| Seek Her as Silver, an Introduction |
| Author: Rod McDonald Entered on: 4/16/2006 |
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| Watching a music student progress slowly into a skillful musician illustrates wisdom. The process includes instruction and correction, trial and error, the gradual discernment of mind and muscle to make the correct sounds, the need for relentless practice, and after a long time she becomes a skilled musician -- or we could say, becomes 'music-wise'. Like the musician, godly living is a skill to be learned, requiring knowledge, discernment, understanding and practice. The opening verses of Proverbs introduce us to key terms which need to be defined. "To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding..." (Prv. 1:2) The Hebrew adjective for 'wise' can also be rendered as 'skillful' or 'practical'. "[From the point of view of the Old Testament] religious experience was not a routine, a ritual or a faith experience. It was viewed as a mastery of the art of living in accordance with God's expectations." (1.) A secular example of the use of this word is found in Exodus where two artisans were chosen who had skill in teaching their trades. "...and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of artistic workmanship." (Ex. 35:31) The Hebrew verb 'to understand' can be defined as: "to be prudent, act wisely, give attention to, ponder, prosper." The idea of 'giving attention to' and pondering is brought out in the following parallelism: "That they may see, and know, and consider and understand." (Isa. 41:20) 1. If it is something that comes from God as a source, we ought to desire it, whatever it may be. Yet for the most part we seldom think about wisdom -- practical, godly, skillful living. For example, we bury ourselves eight feet deep in the doctrine of atonement, yet do not think much about our relationship with our supervisor. The natural response of the teaching of the supremacy of God is loving obedience, yet, we do not "seek her as silver, and search for her as hidden treasures" (Prv 2:4) as we ought. This wisdom is largely earth-bound. We are not elevated to the heavens. It is commonplace -- as plain as a father warning his son of the immoral woman, as everyday as wisdom lifting up her voice in the square and at the head of the noisy streets, and as simple as the teaching of the ant, or the bird of the air, or the grass of the field. If we love our Lord Jesus Christ because of his death, we should also love him for his life. By his death we have obtained deliverance from God's wrath and sin's power. But by his life of perfect obedience he has accomplished our righteousness. "But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption." (1 Cor 1:30) From the gospels we are drawn to the passages of Jesus teaching or his prayer, yet we should love every description of his life. If we "fill up what is lacking in Christ's affliction", in acknowledgment of his death, so we ought to be an eager student of his wisdom, in recognition of his life, walking in a manner worthy of Christ Jesus. So we should approach the study of wisdom in light of its heavenly origin and its relationship to Christ. We should pursue it with the effort of the hard-rock miner who penetrates the solid granite to bring up its treasure. We should follow hard after it, as though imitating Christ, as the music student who labors for years to be like her teacher. "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom." (Jas 3:13) 1. Nelson's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, Thomas Nelson Publishers. |
